In northern Kenya’s desert, herders get a hand — from a NASA satellite
This story starts where Kenya’s roads end — literally. The smooth tarmac that winds through Kenya’s wheat and flower fields turns to dust in…
Read MoreAs diplomats meet in London to talk Somalia, where are the women?
Lots of powerful men — and a few powerful women, including the American Secretary of State — are meeting in London to talk about…
Read MoreUpdates from the cave where I’m hiding
Some combination of way too much work, too much travel, and too few hours in the day has made me neglect this little nook of…
Read MoreOf Poland, poets and the feeling of the possible: A goodbye
I am not a poet, but I am an impassioned lover of Wislawa Szymborska. She won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1996, but…
Read MoreLook out, women! You know what they say about sneezing… (don’t you?)
I promise you this gets funny. In the last two weeks, I’ve grown terribly allergic to something in my house, probably in my room….
Read MoreHow will you spend Christmas in Africa?
Your Crib Sheet for Covering African Elections, in Congo and beyond
We’re all watching the DR Congo with baited breath. The recent presidential election, or process that has borne the name, has sparked unrest and…
Read MoreWhen in need in Zambia
…you may want the text of this ad, scrolling at the bottom of a local soap opera in Lusaka: “Dr Kapeza the herbalist hereby…
Read MoreFrom the tops of water towers, a little New York nostalgia
I just went digging for some clips and realized two of my favorite America stories aren’t on my website. So I’d like to introduce…
Read MoreThe Big Men of Zambia, and their bigger women
The elevator I have stepped into is small, and two more people get on. One is a woman larger even than I am —…
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